The first episode Overture deals with three questions: what is music? why music? and is there music and music? Composers and musicologists try to answer these philosophical questions, exposing their idea of music.

The second episode Due nell'orchestra (Two in the orchestra) start off with the question "why music?" but from a different point of view: the life of two students that meet at the Spoleto Festival, one coming from Firenze Conservatory and the other from the Julliard School of New York. Although Berio at that time was a teacher at the Julliard, he was not given permission to film inside the american school.

The theme slowly moves to a point where the question is "why music if the city is burning?". Can we make music while in Vietnam people is dying? And then, what do musicians want after the school?